| Painted Lady | |
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| Specimen from Portugal | |
| Conservation status | |
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Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| (unranked): | Rhopalocera |
| Superfamily: | Papilionoidea |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Subfamily: | Nymphalinae |
| Tribe: | Nymphalini |
| Genus: | Vanessa |
| Subgenus: | Cynthia |
| Species: | V. (C.) cardui |
| Binomial name | |
| Vanessa (Cynthia) cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Papilio cardui Linnaeus, 1758 |
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The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) is a well-known colourful butterfly, sometimes known in North America as the Cosmopolitan. This butterfly has a strange pattern of flying in a sort of screw shape.
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Distribution
It is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. In Australia, V. cardui has a limited range around Bunbury, Fremantle and Rottnest Island. However, its close relative, the Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi, sometimes considered a subspecies) ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American Painted Lady (Vanessa virginiensis), and the West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella).
Migration
The Painted Lady occurs in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. For example, it migrates from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Britain in May and June, but having produced offspring they then die in the Autumn.
Relationship with humans
Painted Lady butterflies are raised in many pre-school classrooms to demonstrate the life cycle of a butterfly. Naturally, this is one reason they are so popular amongst children. They are also often found in science fair projects.
Life cycle
The egg takes 3 to 5 days to hatch. The caterpillar takes 7–11 days to turn into a chrysalis. It takes 7–11 days for the chrysalis to turn into a butterfly. It doesn't stay in one area so long. The painted lady butterfly travels around 1000 miles in its life. Its wing span is 2 in. The painted lady caterpillar is black with spiked skin.
Host plants
The caterpillars feed on a wide variety of host plants of the families Asteraceae, especially Carduus crispus (as implied by the species name cardui – Latin for "of the thistles"). Also, Boraginaceae, Malvaceae (especially hollyhocks and dwarf mallow Malva neglecta), and a number of Fabaceae are eaten. The adults drink nectar from a variety of wildflowers and cultivars, more commonly the favored thistle, butterfly bush (Buddleja), asters, Tickseed sunflowers (Bidens) and zinnias.
References
- Opler, P. A. and A. B. Wright. 1999. Peterson field guide to western butterflies. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. 544 pp. [ISBN 0-395-79152-9]
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Vanessa cardui |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Vanessa cardui |
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
